The present invention concerns a protective case for stringed instruments. It is readily adaptable for use with instruments such as violins or violas which may have different body sizes within a given type.
The cost of concert quality stringed instruments is very high, ranging from thousands well into tens of thousands of dollars. This price range excludes a small group of particularly select instruments which may have much higher values. Needless to say, the artists who own and use these instruments are much concerned about their protection as they are stored and transported between different locations.
If violins and violas can be taken as examples, for many years they were carried in cases which were generally formed in an oversized contour of the instrument itself. Violas, in particular, are manufactured in body sizes which typically range from about 380 to 440 mm long. Obviously, a case designed for an instrument having one of the shorter body sizes cannot accommodate a viola with a longer body length. One would assume that this would not be true of the opposite situation and presume that an instrument with a shorter body could be carried in a case designed for a longer bodied instrument. However, most musicians are reluctant to adopt this expedient. A well designed case will snugly cradle the instrument so that it can have essentially no movement within the case. A snug fit is essential for prevention of damage. For this reason, very few artists are willing to accept the risk of carrying a valuable instrument in an oversized case.
The requirement for instrument cases of different sizes poses problems for both musicians and manufacturers. Manufacturers must make and stock cases in sizes which are only incrementally different. A musician, who may have instruments of several sizes, must likewise individualize the cases to the instruments.
Many musicians are less concerned about protecting their instruments from physical damage when in secure storage or at a home location. Their main concern is protection during transportation and immediately before and after use. This has resulted in a demand from musicians having several instruments for a solid case which is adjustable to instruments having different body sizes. To the present inventor's knowledge, no adjustable cases of the type in which the case is generally contoured to resemble the instrument have ever been available. In recent years many of the better quality instrument cases have been rectangular in outline. These contain internal blocking and padding designed to hold the instrument snugly in place. The rectangular case has an additional advantage in that it offers more storage space for bows and accessories such as spare strings and rosin. One adjustable rectangular case has been made available by a German supplier. This has a movable fence which engages one side of the instrument body while the other side of the body is maintained against a fixed surface. The protection offered to the instrument by a case of this type is not particularly good and it has not found wide acceptance among musicians.
The present invention has proved to be an excellent solution to the problem of providing a case which is adjustable for instruments having different body lengths and will offer secure protecting against damage during storage and transportation.